Overview : The National Registration Bureau (NRB) of Malawi is legally mandated to implement and maintain a National Registration and Identification System (NRIS) to register and issue identity cards to all citizens 16 years of age and older. UNDP has provided preparatory technical assistance to the NRB in the elaboration of a NRIS Concept of Operations, the design and development of critical software and operational procedures, and support to a successful Proof of Concept exercise conducted in early August, 2016. A Project for NRIS has been designed and negotiated with Government and Development Partners around the Concept of Operations. The Concept of Operations foresees UNDP directly implementing the registration and issuing of a biometrically-secure identity smart card to approximately 9 million citizens in 2017, and the establishment of a national registry to process and store individuals’ records in a central database. Thereafter, the system is to transition to a continuous registration system that will be progressively transferred to NRB in the course of 2018 to annually register an expected half-a-million new registrants as well as updating existing registrants’ information. It is expected that with institutional and capacity development as an integral component of the Project, NRB will be positioned to independently administer, manage and operate the NRIS from 2019 onward. The NRIS Project is expected to deliver potentially transformative benefits for governance in Malawi, redressing fundamental obstacles in satisfying the right to identity and to progress the ambition of Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, to ensure legal identity for all. A whole of government approach towards the adoption of use of the system is pivotal to both maximize the benefits of the system and to achieve these goals, as well as a return on investment. The NRIS Project is designed around two principal phases: direct implementation of the mass registration exercise in 2017 with preparatory institutional and capacity development; and, a transitional process to fully capacitate and transfer the management and administration of a continuous registration process to the NRB in the course of 2018. Integral to delivering on these operational goals will be a close partnership with NRB, engagement with a broad spectrum of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on the adoption of the technology and modelling of their business processes, engagement with civil society and other stakeholders, the UN Country Team, and a close partnership with donors engaged in the Project and contributing to the Basket Fund. The introduction of a National Registration and Identification System (NRIS) will introduce a range of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) systems into the operation of the Government’s NRB. As the principal implementer for the mass registration of 9 million Malawians during 2017, UNDP is directly involved in both the development and contracting of software systems to be implemented. These systems will have a long-term impact on the stability, performance and sustainability of the national identification system and should therefore be viewed as a risk source, which are subject to quality assurance (QA) review protocols. The introduction of new technologies is a recurrent challenge across development initiatives that raise due diligence concerns over the maintenance, performance, and interoperability of ICT systems. The complexity of ICT systems, integrating hardware and custom software solutions, is a perpetual challenge that extends beyond the initial design, installation, and operation of systems. To be sustainable these systems need to be responsive over an extended period where initial assumptions and conditions may change, including a broad range of issues such as, legislative, and regulatory requirements, institutional capacities, upgrades to underlying third party software and hardware, as well as the life cycle of equipment. While not every event or modification may be anticipated, a foundational step in the development of ICT systems is to ensure that the initial design, installation, and performance of systems are “fit for purpose” against the initial requirements. Further, that these software systems and their integrated hardware are well and extensively documented to facilitate subsequent efforts to adapt systems when required. These circumstances must assume that the original designers, software engineers, and contractors are no longer available to provide assistance and should enable a suitably qualified third party to be able to maintain, modify and adapt the system as required. Mindful of these concerns the UNDP NRIS Project will employ a software QA review process to ensure that the software systems implemented are subject to an appropriate QA review process. In this context, UNDP NRIS Project seeks to hire a Software QA Expert as Individual Consultant (IC) to assist UNDP with technical support and expertise, contributing with technical assessment on Software in relation to the mentioned NRIS Project. |